Nicoach - The Cracks in the Road we Lay
by Hybrid Person
Summary: Nick and Coach are generally two people in Left 4 Dead people wouldn't normally ship. But what if Coach's realist demeanor and Nick's pessimistic demeanor crossed paths? This is what comes out.
1. A New Love

_Author's Note ~Hello, guys! It's my first time writing fanfiction, so don't judge me too hard. Welp, I do ship Nick and Coach, and I am proud. They'd be too cuute. This fic is rated M, by the way. Mostly for the fact that there will be cute fluff that can slide a bit more than hugging. And violence. Kind of a lot of violence and cussing. Anyways, enjoy, Mortals!_

Nick's Pov

I shot a nearby zombie in the shoulder and watched in disgust as it fell quietly, as if it accepted that it was going to die at that exact moment. I sighed and kept up with the group, barely. I think I may have hurt something for _real_ this time.

The second I saw the safe room, I ran for it, not giving it a second thought. I literally just want to rest, maybe rethink my life choices as a human being.

What I probably should have looked for was the fact that a witch had been sitting on the steps, crying. I literally stepped on her foot. The crying girl looked at me in pure rage, and then proceeded to slash my chest open.

I blacked out.

Coach's Pov

Oh dear lord, why? Why Nick? I was tending to his wounds, and watching him, making sure he wakes up sooner or later. We _have_ to keep moving.. We don't have a second chance.

Suddenly, Nick's acid green eyes fluttered open, and he began coughing and choking on his own blood. I almost cried in shock. I held him down, to keep him from ripping open old wounds, but he just kept coughing and struggling against me.

"Nick, Nick! You'll be ok, just quit struggling, alright? Shh.. It'll.. It'll be fine" I said, panicking while trying to calm him down.

After a while, Nick settled down, and stared up at me. I winced at the type of look he was giving me. It was a painful look, as if saying,"Please don't do this to me".

I fed him some leftover peaches we held onto a while ago. I noticed blood oozing from his white pants. I rolled the pant leg up slowly, and sighed. He ripped his knee open. Probably from when he tried escaping that Tank by climbing up an apartment.

I slowly started patching him up, as not to hurt him.

"Coach, why do you attempt to help me?" Nick muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

"Hm? I'd help you no matter what, Nick. That's a promise" I answered back, wrapping up his leg.

Nick fell silent. "I'm just asking. You're always the first one to help me when I get attacked. You're always there when I'm hurt. You even fed me earlier. I know something's up, ok? You can never hide anything from me." Nick grumpily asked me.

This time, it was my turn to fall silent as I felt my cheeks grow hot. I just kept wrapping his leg and tending to his shredded chest. Nick groaned in boredom.

"I like you, Nick. I'm surprised you didn't suggest this earlier.

Nick almost choked again on his peaches.

"Did I hear you right? You _like_ me? Like.. _Love_ me?" Nick asked quickly, as a heavy blush spread across his face.

I nodded and Nick covered his face with his hands. He had a melancholy look on his face.

"You know, everyone in my hometown called me a faggot.. Because I was gay.. I know, this seems a bit convenient to you, at least, Coach..But, I have a crush on you too.." Nick admitted, his voice cracking.

A smile crossed my face. But Nick was still frowning. I suddenly understood why.

"But yeah.. I know it's wrong to have a relationship with someone in a middle of a damn apocalypse.." I muttered.

"That's not what I'm worried about, Coach. It's just.. I don't want to go through this again."Nick said firmly.

"I can help you through everything, ok? You don't need go alone. Besides, that's what I've been offering you from the very beginning, right? An arm to hold when you can't walk. A light to help carry you through the darkness. It's what good friends, hell, even acquaintances should do" I reassured Nick.

Nick looked at me, and smiled at me. Something I haven't seen ever since the concert at Whispering Oaks. I smiled warmly back at him, and hugged him.

Nick held onto me tightly, and we sat there for a minute.

"Ow. That hurts" Nick winced.

"Oh, sorry" I chuckled as I worked on him again.

And that, was only the beginning.

 _Author's Note ~ So? How'd you like it? Like I mentioned before, this is my first fic, so don't judge me too hard. Leave a review, if you'd like. Good day, Mortals!_


	2. Nightmares

_~What's up everyone? Hybrid Person here to bring you even more fluffy crap. I hope you enjoy! Left 4 Dead 2 is my all time favorite video game that I've played, and I'm glad to see that there are more Nick x Coach shippers out there than I expected!_

Nick's Pov

Coach has been so good to me ever since he confessed, and we've been trying to not keep it obvious to the others we were "together". I'm so happy that we've been able to do this. Rochelle keeps giving us hidden glances, as if she knows. Ellis, his dumbass self doesn't pay attention to anything. Just keeps going on and on about how he should've met Zoey one-on-one.

I keep having these nightmares, though. Nightmares of either me or Coach dying. It hurts me sometimes, and I wake up silently crying, as to not wake the others up. But this time, it was even worse.

In the nightmare, Coach and I were in a perfectly normal world. No zombies. No military. Nothing. Just us walking down a forest path. Suddenly, the witch that almost killed me yesterday walks out in front of us, crying. I stop, but Coach keeps walking. No matter what I say to him, he doesn't see the witch.

"Coach! No!" I yell, reaching out for him.

But something is holding me back, and I can't say anything. I see as the witch gets startled, and tears Coach apart. He screams at me to help him, but I can't do anything but cry silently as the area around us is covered in his blood. Then I wake up.

I wake up, gasping for air and finally sobbing really hard. It woke everyone up, but they watched me in worry. I feel some of my previous bandages open, and blood warming my chest.

Coach rushes over to me, and calms me down. He tells me it's going to be ok. I shake my head, because I can't speak without crying even more. He patches up my wound once more, and holds me until I fall asleep. This time, there was no nightmares, no dreams. Just an empty black.

Coach's Pov

I still can't believe that Nick is still crying over nothing. Maybe it was a nightmare? I still get those, mostly seeing my family dying over and over again. But no one else can comfort him but me. He always holds me tightly, and sighs over and over that I'm actually alive.

One night, Nick was on watch as we rested in a safe room. I couldn't sleep, so we were talking quietly.

"So.. Have you been having nightmares, too? You can never sleep peacefully anymore, Nick. Is everything ok?" I asked him calmly.

Nick's expression immediately darkened, and he didn't answer me for a long time. He just stared out the safe room door silently.

"I keep having nightmares that you die in the most gruesome ways. It hurts me so badly.. I don't even know what to do anymore" Nick answered with a melancholy attitude.

I got up and hugged him gently, and held onto me tightly. It seemed like we never would be able to let go.

Finally, we got a little less closer to each other, but our faces were right in front of each others. I felt my face get slightly hot, and Nick's cheeks were flushing.

Nick leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. I melted into the kiss, never wanting to let go.

We pulled away after a while, and smiled at each other.

"How bout I go take watch, young'un. Get some much-needed sleep, ok?" I suggested.

"Gladly accepted. Night, Coach" Nick called to me.

"Night, Nicholas" I replied back, trying to annoy him.

I felt a pair of angry eyes on me for a couple of seconds before he fell asleep. And that was my night.

 _~So, how'd you guys like this chapter? I might post another one tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, depending on what I have to do. Review, please, if you want to. I always love support or hate. Good Day, Mortals!_


	3. Waiting for Joy

_~Hello Everyone! It's me, again, to bring you some much needed daily fanfiction. (Maybe?) This Left 4 Dead story doesn't take place in any particular campaign, or anything, just giving you a heads-up. As always, enjoy the story!_

Nick's Pov

I ran. I just kept running from the black that was chasing me. I slipped on something I couldn't make out because of the darkness, but it felt like a body. Right when the darkness was about to touch me, a light shone through. I was horrified by the all the bodies that were around.

The bodies were all of the people I've murdered during this apocolypse. I covered my mouth at the smell and I almost threw up. But the light grew brighter, and the smell disappeared. Soon enough, all the bad things were gone. The light was so bright, I couldn't see anymore.

Then the light disappeared. Coach was right next to me, and we were holding hands. He was smiling, and soon enough, I was too. Everyone we met so far were happily having an outing all together, without a care in the world. I basked in the happiness.

After what seemed like only two minutes, I woke up. I was sleeping in the corner of the safe room. Everyone was already up, except for Ellis, getting ready for a new voyage across the city. I rose from my place on the floor, and kicked Ellis awake. He groaned and glared at me.

"Why do you always wake me up like that? I ya grumpy er something?" Ellis yawned as he stretched.

"You'd be grumpy too if you had the dreams I've been having" I shot back.

Ellis didn't answer back, and got up to get some weapons ready. I walked with him.

Once everyone was ready, we moved out. We didn't kill many zombies, though, which surprised me. Then the scene changed. Apparently, we walked onto an abandoned military base.

I heard a grunt of a Tank, and stopped everyone. I peeked around the corner of a tent only to see the largest Tank I've ever seen. I got my molotov ready.

"Guys" ,I whispered, "There's a gigantic Tank around that corner. I'm gonna get its attention and throw a molotov at it. Once it's in view, shoot the shit out of it"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and got ready. I jumped into view, and yelled. The Tank ran after me and I attempted to throw the molotov in the right direction. But when the glass was just slipping out of my hand, my knee stung violently, and the bottle set a nearby building on fire.

I ran past the group yelling for them to run. They looked confused, then saw the Tank was full force running after us. Fortunately, I got into a safe place. Unfortunately, the Tank got a hold of Coach. I yelled and shot as and fast as the gun could handle. It knocked Coach violently into the wall, and his body went limp.

Soon enough, the Tank died, with Coach still in its massive hand. I ran over and got Coach out quickly. I checked his pulse, which was normal, but he didn't look too well. I used my health pack on his wounds, and we camped out in a nearby tent, deciding we've gone far enough.

I stayed with Coach in a separate tent, never leaving his side. I was only waiting for the moment when he will finally wake up, so I can feel his arms around me.


	4. Forgetting

_~ Hi guys! I'm glad I'm glad I'm getting so much support from other people, so thanks, everyone! I know normal people would just ship normal ships like Nellis. Welp, I'm NOT normal. Also, I was listening to System of a Down and Slipknot while writing this, so it may get a little bit more psychological than normal. As always, enjoy!_

Coach's Pov

It was all black. I don't even know who I am. I don't know where I am. Or what's happening. I open my eyes to see a man with abnormally acid green eyes watching me with a worried expression.

"Dammit, Coach. You scared the shit outta me.." The man muttered and hugged me gently.

My eyes squinted confusion. I pushed him away. I'm don't know what's even happening.

"Who.. Who are you? Where am I?" I asked frantically.

The man's eyes widened, and he muttered curses.

"Ok.. I'm Nick, ok? We're in the middle of an apocalypse. You hit your head pretty hard, didn't you? You're Coach" The man explained.

Coach. That's who I am. Nick. That's who he is. Wait, when I woke up, he hugged me. Do we have a special relationship?

"D-Do we have feelings for each other?" I asked like a child.

Nick's face clearly saddened and blushed. He nodded. Nick walked out of the tent we were sitting in.

I don't know what was in me, but.. He does look very cute. I would be glad to be in a relationship with him. He also seemed very caring for my welfare.

I walked out of the tent. I looked to my left, and a man was running up to me. His face looked deteriorated, eyes glowing white. It attacked me, scratching. I couldn't do anything but yell.

Another man with a mustard yellow t-shirt came out and shot the man. He flashed a cocky smile at me.

"Glad to see you're awake, Coach!" The man laughed.

I cocked my head to one side slightly. The man's face turned from happy to worried.

"D-Don't you remember me? I'm Ellis!" The man greeted.

"Ellis.. Nick.. Wasn't there one more person?" I asked.

"Yeah, Rochelle. But she's sleeping. That Tank did hit you pretty hard, I guess. I think you have amnesia, Coach." Ellis replied.

"Oh" I managed out before a woman in a pink band shirt came out. I guessed she was Rochelle.

"Hey, Coach. What's up? You feeling ok?" Rochelle yawned.

"I don't remember anything" I answered back absentmindedly.

Rochelle gave me a half-confused half-worried look.

"Oh no. It hit him _that_ hard?" Rochelle looked at Ellis.

Ellis nodded. Rochelle held out her hand to me.

"Well, since you're basically making a new start with all of us, let me introduce myself. I'm Rochelle. Nice to meet you" Rochelle smiled happily.

I looked at her calloused and bruised hand. I shook her hand gratefully.

I guess this is a new family that I have to get used to. I'm glad I'm with them, though. They were the only ones I remembered. I didn't need an introduction from any of them. Especially Nick. Because I love all of them _too_ much to ever forget them.

 _~ So how was it? Great twist, huh? Again, thanks for all the support, everyone! Good day, Mortals!_


	5. Final Embrace

_~Sorry I haven't posted for a while! Just got lazy, I guess.. Anyways, I'd like to apologize about how chapter three turned out. I don't know how it got corrupted, but I'll work on fixing it. Enjoy this next chapter, though!_

Nick's Pov

Finally, we've made it into New Orleans. Now we just need to get through the damn place. I can't take the fact that Coach got amnesia. I wish everyday that he'd just remember me..

We got off of Virgil's boat and said our farewells. We traversed through the city, and after the third safe room, we decided to rest for an hour or so.

My eyes crossed the room, and I observed everybody closely. Rochelle was sharing water with Ellis, Coach was staring out the opening in the safe room, and Ellis was.. Eating fruit snacks?!

"Ellis! Where'd you find those, and why aren't you sharing it with any of us?!" I shouted.

"Coach gave me some!" Ellis whimpered and brought his hands up.

My expression softened, and I laid against the wall with my hand on my forehead. I sighed.

"I feel sick" I groaned.

"Here" Coach piped up and threw me a granola bar.

"Where do you keep finding food?" I asked, annoyed.

"While you guys are fighting those things, I scavenge around. It's not that hard to raid a vending machine, actually. That's why I always have an axe" Coach explained, and flipped his axe in his hands.

He threw a bag full of food in the middle of us. I crawled over to it, and looked inside. Mostly candy, chips, soda, stuff like that.

"Wow. You're probably the smartest out of all of us, scavenging around like that" Rochelle muttered.

Coach shrugged, and nibbled on a chocolate bar.

An hour later, we gathered up everything, and moved out. We were feeling confident about everything, until we heard crying.

I looked towards the next safe room, and a Witch was sitting there. Coach unknowingly walked up and shot her.

"Coach, no!" I shouted.

Coach looked at me in question, and the witch pounced on him.

He screamed, and fought against the Witch hopelessly.

I ran up and shot her right in the head. I pushed her dead body aside, and took a look at Coach. He fainted again. I gathered him up and ran to the safe room. I put him on a nearby table.

I got out my health pack and patched him up. He looked better already. All we had to do was wait for him to wake up.

Twenty minutes passed when he finally woke up. He looked different this time, like his old self, once again.

"Nick!" Coach exclaimed and threw his arms around me.

He gritted his teeth in pain, but held on. I laid him back down, and took a look at his wounds. They were probably just stinging, there's no blood.

"Coach, you got amnesia for a day, there" I chuckled.

Coach looked at me seriously. I looked back, unamused.

He smiled, and got up. He didn't look in pain at all, for some reason. He grabbed some weapons, and looked at me optimistically.

"Well? Aren't you ready to finally get out of this Hell?" Coach asked me brightly.

"Yeah. Sure, Coach" I answered back, and dug my hands in my pants pockets.

Everyone got ready, and we moved on to the bridge. We had ten minutes to get across it to the helicopter. We fought our way through hordes and Tanks.

Only, it got very bad near the end.

We caught sight of the helicopter, and ran for it. Then a Charger came and knocked me into a tent. The rest of the team didn't see it, and kept going.

I screamed, but all of the commotion caused them not to hear. Or maybe they just didn't want to hear me.

I closed my eyes, and was ready to die. Suddenly, the Charger died instead. Coach was there and helped me up.

"No way I'm letting you behind, boy" Coach grinned.

I smirked back and limped with Coach to the helicopter.

All of a sudden, Coach tensed up, and threw me forward. A Tank hit him across the airpad.

"Coach!" I yelled.

"Just go inside the helicopter! Leave me!" Coach shouted back.

Tears brimmed in my eyes, and I fought them back. I knew that Coach was going to be too stubborn to change his mind. I jumped onto the helicopter, and stuck my head out to yell three final words to Coach as we flew away.

"I. LOVE. YOU" I shouted through the din.

Coach looked back and smiled.

I got back into the interior of the helicopter and sat against the wall. I finally just lost it and bawled into my hands. I felt someone hug me. Two people, actually. Rochelle and Ellis both embraced me in silence, and were silently crying.

My Coach. He's dead. I just can't bring myself to believe it.

 _~Sorry for the super sad chapter. I just had to. Good Day, Mortals!_


	6. Carrier

_~ Hello, Everyone! I'm so glad for all the support I've been getting about this fanfic! Thank you guys so much! You guys make my work shine! I also included some Ocs of mine in here, so don't be too confused! Anyways, Keep reading, as always!_

Nick's Pov

We finally made it to a military outpost. When we first got there, we were hosed down and were checked for small viruses. Then we got to the test for the Green Flu. We were taken in one by one, each of the tests taking about ten minutes. We were with another group of a bunch of twelve year-olds, which I couldn't believe made it through this Hell.

One particular girl with black hair with a turquoise streak in it was watching me intently. Her abdomen was wrapped heavily in bandages, and there was still blood soaking them. Her eyes were a startling stormy gray. She had a ripped black skirt, dirtied white socks, and a soiled black shirt. What was most noticeable was her porcelain skin, as white as snow. Reminded me a bit of an emo Snow White.

I turned my head away from observing the girl after a doctor came out towards her quickly. I faintly heard their conversation.

"Hello, Dear. How are you feeling? What's your name?" the doctor asked.

There was silence, with slight tapping. I felt as if she was using sign language, which I understand a bit, after staying in a casino full of mute people and dealers.

"That's a beautiful name, Marilynn. Ok, just sit on this table, and we'll get started," the woman answered quickly.

Then the procedure went on, and the girl came out with a slight blush, which appeared very heavy on her light skin.

I was called last, and I got my procedures done. They looked interested in my DNA, which worried me a bit, but at least I don't feel as anxious as Marilynn looked. And that's saying a lot.

We stayed in barracks for the night, boys and girls separated. I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking about Coach. I cried silently, knowing I didn't even attempt to take him with us. This was all my fault, that he couldn't come with us.

The next morning, new people were pulled out and told about their DNA results. While we waited, a girl with red hair came over with tears in her eyes. She glanced at Marilynn hesitantly and looked down at her stained shirt.

"You are a carrier. Marilynn looked through your files last night. She's gonna… She's gonna pretend as if.. She's the carrier. Marilynn switched the files. She's going to die for you, Nick. My own girlfriend.. By the way, my name's Sabrina. Just.. Be thankful, ok?" the girl explained quietly.

I sat there, dumbfounded. Soon, a bulky man stepped in, holding a small note, probably telling who was infected; Marilynn.

He beckoned Marilynn forward, I heard her gulp, and she sat up quietly, and shakily.

The man took all of us to a large, metal covered room. He put Marilynn up against a wall. She shed a couple of tears. The man held up a pistol, getting ready to shoot it.

"Wait! It's me! I'm the actual carrier! She just switched our files. Redo my DNA, you'll see it's actually me and not her, dammit!" I yelled angrily.

The girl's eyes widened, and she looked at me carefully, fearfully.

I sighed, and walked up to the wall. I pushed Marilynn gently back to Sabrina.

"Thanks for trying kid, but.. God knows I deserve this judgement." I muttered into her ear. She looked at me sadly. She made hand gestures towards me. I read them carefully, and slowly.

"At least I tried to save you. I guess I can't even save one person in this Hell we call Earth"

I nodded, and walked up. I fell to my knees, and spread my arms. I looked at the ground.

"I guess this is goodbye. I'm going to _real_ Hell this time." I whispered.

Suddenly, I hear a commotion and someone bursts into the room. I see a pair of black sneakers which were stained with dirt, blood, and bile. I look up farther, dirtied khaki pants. I see the torso. A yellow and purple shirt with the letter FHS on the breast area. I finally see the face of the person that I thought was supposed to be dead. My dearly loved one, My only true love.

It was Coach

 _~So how'd you think of it? Noice twist I put in there, huh? Haha. I really hoped you liked this chapter! Just imagine Through the Fire and Flames playing near the end as Coach and Nick see each other, and the rest should be Sound of Silence by Disturbed. Anyways, Good Day, Mortals!_


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